It’s time to look back at the month gone by, and here at The Coffee Can there is no denying that we had an absolutely jam-packed September. With the summer holidays filling August, it always feels as though September brings a welcome return to routine and regularity – autumn leaves are beginning to fall from the trees, schools are back and term time begins, and layering season feels as though it’s truly underway for those working mobile coffee events trying to work out whether they’re going to be hit by a mini September heatwave or a torrential downpour – the joys of British weather.
What’s been going on with our team? Well, we had a few birthdays this month! Emily, Ben and Kate are our team of Virgos / Libras, and we made sure they had ample time to celebrate away with family and friends. It was very bittersweet to wave a farewell to Maisie, our star at The Coffee Can on The Green (at Bourne Pavilion) as she absolutely shone with her A Level results and headed off to university. We’re so proud! But don’t worry, we’re very much looking forward to catching up with her at Christmas. Other wonderful Coffee Can faces Oli and Mia also headed back for final years at university, and we’re wishing them the very best of luck and all the caffeine they can get their hands on as they go into their final years of studying.
Brooklands Motor Museum
Many of you may well know that we are regulars with our mobile coffee vans at the Brooklands Motor Museum event days! We absolutely love jumping on board with the events themes, and September saw us attend American Day, Emergency Services Day and German Day.
All of these events brought different cars to the Brooklands circuit, but it was so lovely to see regular faces time after time. Although we couldn’t possibly have favourites, it must be said that Emergency Services Day is always a special day in our diaries as it’s just fantastic to see so many families coming together for days out (we always make sure to stock extra gingerbread biscuits on that day!).
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Sausage and Cider Festival
Back in Farnham, we spent Saturday 7th between rainstorms in Gostrey Meadows for the 2024 Sausage and Cider Festival. Gostrey’s holds a special place in the Coffee Can heart because it’s where we spend many a day pitched up with Candice, our original mobile coffee van. It was therefore so wonderful to have many of our old regulars who live in the centre of Farnham pop by for a catch up.
The festival itself went fantastically, even with the slightly unpredictable weather. With days of rain leading up to the event, we were apprehensively tracking down our wellies, but Saturday came round and although there were some downpours, there were bursts of sun to keep us going well into the evening.
Colour Run
What could be better than finishing a charity run than with a nice warm cup of coffee? The team at Edgeborough School had the right idea when they invited us to pitch up at their colour run event. For those of you who may not know what a colour run entails – think cross country but with bursts of coloured powder filling the track. By the end, the runners’ clothes are a rainbow of colours! Great fun to witness. Our coffee van didn’t get blasted by paint on our way in or out, but we do think that adding a splash of rainbows could be a great look!
Wrapping up cricket season
Over on The Green, the Pavilion played host to the Junior Cricket Awards – an annual event marking the end of the cricket season. It has, yet again, been a joy to have so many home games hosted on the Bourne Green over the summer. As soon as the grass cutting commences, we know that weekends full of picnics in the sun are on the cards for the cricket player’s families. The juniors were exceptionally proud of their awards this year, and it was a very fitting way to round off the season.
But as one season closes, another one starts, so September saw us gearing up for the start of the football season… we best get dusting up on the offside rule.
Farnham Food Festival (and then some)
The month wrapped up with the weekend to end all weekends – three events with two vans, two coffee shops open, and one mighty team to see us through the day.
It was the Farnham Food Festival on Sunday the 29th. A date in our diary that we look forward to all year round because quite frankly, Farnham puts on one of the best food festivals in the south! The entirety of Castle Street and The Borough gets filled with hundreds of food and drink stalls, and with food demonstrations throughout the day, the entirety of the town has a buzz to it unlike any other. Admittedly though, our day is pretty tunnel visioned on our trusty mobile espresso set up, because the people of Farnham need their coffee. From the get go we did not stop, but we couldn’t have been extracting espresso any more efficiently than our 28 second extraction time can allow (no rushing that step!).
Meanwhile over at Brooklands, it was the previously mentioned German Day. We had two vans out for the occasion with Caitlin and Emily stationed at the entrance, whilst team Ben and Eva were by Concorde. Another fantastic day was had there with plenty of familiar faces dropping by to say hello – the weather wasn’t quite on our side at Weybridge, but the hot chocolates were keeping everyone warm. As was our gazebo, but that did have to come down when the wind almost took it away from us!
Then, there were the two coffee shops. Autumnal walking season has hit the Bourne with many of our locals heading out for dog walks at Bourne Woods. Needing coffee nearby? Our shop on Bourne Green is set up for walkers, dog owners and families a plenty. Meanwhile at Secretts, locals are already thinking ahead to pumpkin picking weekend and heading into the farm shop to get ingredients for warming evening suppers.
Lets see what October brings!